Predictive Analytics in Ed-Tech Create New Questions

Predictive analytics in educational technology is leading to a whole new set of questions about how the data it generates is being used to help students, what happens with that data, and what assumptions are built into the algorithms used to make decisions based on it. There is now increased pressure for transparency.

That’s why this was a major topic of discussion during a recent panel at the Education Impact Symposium.

Among the panelists, our client D2L’s VP of product management David Koehn. As a former high school English teacher, he used an adaptive-content system that established a student’s level of ability based on how he or she responded to an initial set of questions.

Koehn explained that algorithms are everywhere and they’re not going away.

“From the medicine you’re prescribed by your doctor to your insurance premium and the the actuary predictor, the music you listen to on Pandora or Spotify,” Koehn said. “From a provider’s standpoint, the way data is manufactured, the way it’s treated—we want to have the highest goals in mind.”